Releasable slider



June 4, 1957 A. E. CARLILE RELEASABLE SLIDER Filed. April 2o. 1955 INVENTOR. 4MM/JE 2m/f m) y AWM/ff nml l United States Patent O 2,794,230 RELEASABLE SLIDER Alfred Et Carlile, Meadville, Pa., assignor to Talon, Inc., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 20, 1953, Serial No. 349,914 7 Claims. (Cl. 24-2tl5.15)

This invention relates to slide fasteners, and more particularly to an improved slider of the so-called releasable type having means permitting selective spacing of the slider wings relative to one another so as to facilitate the freeingrof the sliders from clothing or other foreign materials when accidentally caught therein due to the longitudinal movement of the slider along the fastener elements.

Heretofore, various types of removable or releasable sliders have been suggested and used, but most of these sliders had several disadvantages which rendered their use unsatisfactory. Most of these sliders employed the use of hinged plates or wings having means for locking the wings in spaced operative relation after the slider was assembled on the fastener elements. Such sliders not only consisted of a plurality of intricate parts which were dilicult and expensive to manufacture and assembie, but oftentimes, the engaging means for holding the wings in spaced relation would wear and become loose and thereby permitting play between the plates which would result in the wings spreading sufliciently to become displaced from the stringers, thereby defeating the primary purpose for which such sliders were intended.

According to my invention, there is provided a slider consisting of two independent wings or plates having means incorporated vtherewith for holding them securely together when they are disposed in their proper spaced operating relation, thereby eliminating the above mentioned disadvantages.

It is one of theY objects of the present invention to provide an improved releasable slider having a latch member arranged therewith which is actuated manually to eiiect automatic spreading of the slider wings to a predetermined desired relative spacing so as to loo-sen the slider upon the fastener elements.

It is another object of this invention to provide a slider wherein the means for holding the slider wings in their normal operative spaced relation is independent of the pull or actuating member by which the slider is normally moved along the fastener to open and closethe same, thereby eliminating any danger of unintentionally releasing the slider or spreading of the wings by the normal manipulation of the pull or actuating member.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a slider wherein the Wings are urged together by yieldable means to normal operative spaced relation, and wherein the spacing or distance which they are spread apart, is controlled by manual means including a latch` member which defines at least two positive spread positions or spacings of the wings from one another, which positions or spacings are assumed by the wings automatically upon manual operation of the aforesaid latch member and which latch member is automatically returned to its normal position together with the wings by said yieldable means when any material or obstruction between the wings is removed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a slider which will not become displaced frorn the fastener stringers either when the wings Vare in their normal operating position or when' the wings are sprea apart a predetermined distance to provide more freedom of movement along the fastener elements thereby eliminating the danger of the slider from becoming accidentally displaced and lost from the fastener.

lt is a more specific object of this invention to provide means for holding the wings of such a slider in securely proper spaced relation so as to prevent relative planar displacement of the wings when they are in their normal operative position but which means may be actuated to permit relative planar separation of the wings to a predetermined spacing therebetween but not total disconnection of the wings.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specication, and will be particularly pointe-d out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view, partly broken away, improved slider of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar 'to Fig. 2, showing the slider parts in position to effect spreading of the wings to a predetermined spaced position,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the latch member, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

eferringmore particularly to the drawings, the slider in accordance with the present invention, consists generally of overlying spaced-apart upper and lower wings 2 and 3, respectively, having inwardly extending guide flange portions 4 along their marginal edges and connected 'at one end thereof by a neck portion 5 so as to provide substantially a Y-shaped channel between the wings into and through which the fastener elements of a conventional slide fastener pass when the slider is moved therealong for engaging and disengaging `the same in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.

The connecting neck portion 5 comprises an inwardly extending stud-like portion 6 arranged integrally with and centrally of the lower or bottom wing 3 at the upper end thereof. At the upper end of the opposed or upper wing 2, there is arranged integrally therewith and centrally thereof, a larger inwardly extending portion 7 having a socket or recess 8 therein conforming substantially to the stud-like portion 6 of the wing 3 and in which it is telescopically disposed for a purpose hereinafter to be described. Both the stud-like portion 6 and the socket 8 with which it co-operates `are preferably polygonal-shaped so as to provide a key-like arrangement for preventing rotative movement of the two wings 2 and 3 relative to one another.

In the stud-like portion 6 of the wing 3, there is arranged in a recess 9 therein, a movable latch member 10 having its inner end pivotally attached to the lower wing 3, as at 12. This latch member 10 extends up through an aperture 13 in the upper wing 2 and on the extreme outer end thereof there is arranged a transversely extending enlarged head portion 14 which is disposed beyond the outer surface of the wing 2.

This enlarged head portion 14 has side portions extending transversely to either side of the aperture 13 on the outer side of the wing 2. On the lower side of each of these side portions there is arranged a cam-like portion 15 which co-operates with a pair of recesses or grooves 16 and 17 arranged in side by side relation in the upper surface of the wing 2 to either side of the aperture 13 showing the purpose hereinafter to be described. The 16 are of less depth than the outer or upper 'will be clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 3 of the therein for a inner grooves grooves 17, as drawings. shallower lthan the outer the head portion 14 has eled surface, as at 18.

preferably` an inclined or bev- On the outer side of the. wing 2, .centrally thereof and ata spaced distance from the aperture 13 therein, there is arranged a lug portion attached a pull member 20 for manipulating the slider to open and close the fastener in a well known manner. At

a spaced distance from its pivotal connection with the lug 19, there is arranged in this pull member20, a rectangular-shaped recess 21, so as to provide a camming wall portion 22 for -a purpose to be presently described.

In a slot 23 arranged continuously :around the outer edges and bottom of the latch member 10, there is arranged a substantially U-shaped spring member 24 having its inner end staked therein, as at 25, as more clearly shown in Fig. 5. The opposite end of the spring member bears against the inner rear wall of the aperture 13 in the wing 2, as at 26.

Having described the construction of my improved slider, it functions in the following manner. It will be assumed that the wings 2 and 3 are in their normal spacedapart operating positions with the cam portion 15 of the enlarged head portion 14 of the latch member 10 positionedyand seated in the grooves 16 on the outer surface of the wing 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, so as to normally prevent the wings from moving apart. If material or other foreign objects are caught between the wings of the slider and the fastener elements, the wings are moved apart suiciently to release the caught material. This is accomplished merely by moving the pull member 20 to its uppermost position about its pivotal connection with the lug 19 so that the inner edge of the wall portion 22 formed by the recess 21 `in the pull member rests on the inclined or beveled surface 18 of the enlarged head portion member 10. The pull member is then moved further toward parallelism with the slider wings and in so doing, the latch member is moved about its pivotal connection 12 with the lower wing 3 due to the camming action of the wall portion 22 on the inclined or beveled surface 18 of the enlarged head portion 14. In such movement it will be seen that the enlarged head portion 14 Will be moved upwardly with the cam-like portion'15 carried thereby positioned and seated in the other grooves 17 so .as to Vpermit the slider wings 2 and 3 to movea slight distance apart, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Also, in such movement it will be seen that the latch member 10 is moved against the action of the spring member 24. The caught material or other foreign object is then removed from between the wings. Upon such removal the wings will be moved automatically to their normal spaced relation due to the action of this spring member 24. That is, the latch member 10 will be moved about its pivotal` connection at 12, so as to again position the camlike portion 15 of `the enlarged head portion 14 in the innerggrooves 16, thereby forcing together and positioning the wings in their normal spaced relation, as shown in Figs. l and 2, without the necessity of actuating the latch member manually.

It will be understood that .the respective depths of the grooves 16 and `17 are such that the wings are permitted to move apart only a few thousandths of an inch and not enough to permit the slider tor beremoved or displaced from-,thefastener chain. In other-words`,the Wings are permitted to be moved apart onlyvsufliciently'to free the icaught'material and if theiwings are not fully closed when the slider is .free the slider will still function to open and close thefastener without danger of the fastener elements opening .up behind the slider.A

As, aaresult` of fmy invention,

In other words, the inner grooves` 16are-. grooves .17. The inner side vof 19 to which thereis pivotally 14 of the latch' it will '-beseenmthat there is provided an improved slider of the releasable type for.

slide fasteners of a new and novel construction. It will be seen that this slider is of a simple construction which can be easily assembled and operated. A most important aspect is that my improved slider cannot become accidentally removed from the fastener Ichain in that the movement of 'the wings relative to one another is limited to a predetermined distance. Also, the slider will function to close the fastener not only when the wings are in their normal closed position but also when the wings .are released or slightly thereby eliminatingk any danger of the fastener opening up behind the slider When manipulated, which of course is highly objectionable.

It will also be seen that after the caught material is removed from between the slider wings that the wings will be moved and maintained automatically in their normal spaced `apart position due to the action of the spring member 24 on the latch member which is an important advantage of the present invention. By such construction, it will be seen that the slider wings are constantly urged toward their normal operating spacedapart position.

While I have shown and described `an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description, and that other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as dened in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A slider for slide fasteners of the class described comprising overlying spaced wings, means detachably connecting said wings together at one vend thereof, said connecting means including an inwardly extending portion carried by one of said wings which co-operates with and engages a corresponding inwardly extending portion.

plane substantially perpendicular to said Wings, said latch member arranged in a recess in one of said wings and extending up substantially perpendicular through a recess in the other of said Wingsto a point above the surface of said last-mentioned wing, said recess being positioned centrally of said inwardly extending portions of said Wings, and means arranged on the outer free end of said latch member :above said wing surface, said lastmentioned means having engaging by co-operating with said wing surface for maintaining said wings in their proper spaced operating relation and for permitting said wings to be moved apart to another predetermined spaced position.

2. A slider for slide fastener, as defined in claim 1, including a pull member attached to the outer side of said last-mentioned wing having camming means carried thereby which coopenates with said last-mentioned means for actuating said latch member when said pull member is moved .to one of its extreme positions substantially parallel to the wings w ereby the wings be permitted to move rapart from one termined spaced operating position.

3. A .slider for slide fasteners, as defined in claim 1, wherein the mean-s arranged `on the outer free end of the latch member consists means carried therev a cam-like portion arranged onv ber for moving and maintaining said latch member so that the cam-surface is positioned in the grooves in said surface having the least depth whereby the wings are maintained and positioned in normally spaced operating relation.

5. A slider tor slide fasteners of the class described comp-rising overlying spaced-apart wings, and means detachably connecting said wings together 'at one end thereof and providing substantially parallel planar separation of said wings in a direction substantially normal thereto comp-rising an inwardly extending portion carried by one of said wings which co-operates with and engages a corresponding inwardly projecting portion carried 4by the other of said wings so as to provide substantially a Y-shaped channel between the wings, a movable latch member disposed -in a recess in said lower wing and pivotally attached thereto on a transverse axis, said latch member extending up through an opening in said upper wing and terminating in an enlarged head portion positioned beyond the outer surface of said upper wing, said enlarged head portion having a cam portion carried thereby which cooperates with at least a pair of spaced-apart grooves arranged in said outer sunface, said grooves arranged transversely of said Wing latch member adapted to be moved so as to position said cam portion in either of said grooves whereby the slider wings are spaced apart in either one of two selected positions.

and being of diierent depths, said 25 6. A slider for slide fasteners as detined in claim 5, including a pull member pivotally attached to the outer surface of said upper wing at a spaced distance from said latch member, said pull member having means carried thereby which cooperates with the enlarged head portion of said latch member when said pull member is moved to one of its extreme portions substantially parallel to the wings so as to move said latch member and position the cam portion in the other of said grooves whereby 4the wings will be permitted to move apart from one another.

7. A slider for slide fasteners, as defined in claim 6, v

including a spring member arranged withv said latch member for urging and maintaining the latch member in position so that the cam portion carr'ed thereby is positioned in the grooves of the lesser depth on the outer surface of the wing whereby the wings are maintained in their nor-mal operating spaced relation.

Genstrnan Nov. 1, 1.949 Lacknitz Mar. 25, 1952 

